Save Our Souls
by emikohayashi4912
Summary: After refusing to agree with the contract from the Sunken Mausoleum, Marth and Peach are taken by the Cleaners. Can Pit and Zelda save them before they all become Mausoleum spirits? Faint traces of PitxZelda, and rated T for multiple character deaths.
1. Discovery

My first crossover fanfic! No pairings in this one, Pit-centric.

I don't own Bizenghast or SSBB. If I did own Bizenghast, then Vincent wouldn't have died.

BTW: Ignore the fact that Bizenghast is in Massachusetts

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"And why do we have to come with you?" complained Marth. The bluenette prince stumbled over a few rocks and tree stumps trying to catch up to the blonde princess and the brunette angel ahead of him.

"Because everyone else is busy," pouted Peach, giving Marth her signature puppy-dog look. "Who else am I supposed to bring with me?"

"Come on, Marth. We're just going to help Peach find a place to plant her garden," said Pit.

"Anyways, these woods don't look like a good spot to plant anything. It's too crowded."

"Be positive for once," Peach remarked as she skirted carelessly through the tangle of trees and disappeared from view. A shriek of surprise followed, and the princess toppled backwards, back into view, landing on her butt.

"What is it?" asked Marth, running over to where Peach had gone.

A large cliff extended over a huge field, empty except for what looked like a graveyard. A huge arch, decorated with statues of bony, mutated horses, marked the entrance. Behind the arch, gravestones littered the field. A path led to an enormous gothic-style mausoleum. In front of the mausoleum sat a statue of a hooded angel, and below the angel was an open door that led into nothingness.

Peach, being as curious as she was, jumped down the cliff, and Pit followed.

"Idiots," sighed Marth as he took off after them.

ooooooooooooooooo

A cool breeze passed over Marth's arms as he followed Peach and Pit into the doors. "Do you guys even know where we're going?" he asked. The others shook their heads. The darkness suddenly dispersed into bright light and Marth blinked. Were they so deep down that 50 foot high ceilings were possible?

"Where are we?" whispered Pit, staring in awe at the beauty of the high-ceilinged room. The unfurnished area looked like a cross between a ballroom and a cathedral.

Peach and Pit bounced around like a pair of tourists, while a wall with a strange alarm-clock-headed-six-legged-swirly-tailed-bug symbol with a placard in front of it caught Marth's attention. "Hey, guys, take a look at this," he called.

"What's it say?" asked Peach, leaning over Marth's shoulder.

"Lessee here..." murmured Marth.

"In stone towers four,

Hooded watcher at the door,

And in alcoves threescore,

Let us be.

Behind glass walls we wait,

On our deeds meditate,

Until some luck or fate

Sets us free.

May you never try to find

What is hidden behind,

But if you're still of that mind,

Look and see.

To know what lies untold

In chambers grown cold,

Let each riddle unfold

To find each key."

A small button decorated with a large black key was set at the bottom of the plaque. Marth had a sudden urge to push the button. His fingers grazed the key and he hesitated.

"Come on, push it!" exclaimed Peach, slamming her fist on Marth's hand. Almost immediately, the wall containing the clock-headed bug opened, revealing another plaque.

Pit rushed forward. He crouched down and began to read. "Having entered the Sunken Mausoleum and activated this contract, the undersigned does hereby agree to be owned body and soul until such time as the Mausoleum's vaults are emptied of captive spirits or by the undersigned's sudden death, whichever comes first." Pit hesitated. "Peach's signature is at the bottom," he noted.

"What?" cried Peach, rushing forward to check. Sure enough, written neatly in cursive were the words Peach Toadstool.

"I've got a bad feeling about this place," muttered Marth, turning towards the exit, and Pit and Peach followed.

A series of loud clicks and creaks sounded from above them, and a small, metallic hatch opened, revealing a humanoid being.

The humanoid's torso was that of a woman, while from the waist down, eight spidery legs, complete with little spikes and talons, extended from out of nowhere. On her head she wore a jester hat, and her chest was covered with a tight vest-like shirt that carried the same alarm-clock-headed-six-legged-swirly-tailed-bug symbol as was on the wall. Her face bore full, scarlet lips that contrasted sharply with her porcelain face. She grinned, her sharp fangs becoming visible.

"Hello, Peach," the spider-monster cackled. "We've been waiting for you for a very long time."


	2. Taken

Sorry about not updating on Untitled. I can't get back home until pretty late and I have to stay at my friend's house, so I'm writing my fanfictions there. The problem is that chappie 6 is saved on my computer at home, so I'm doing my crossover right now.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Bizenghast or SSBB.

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Peach screamed upon setting her eyes on the horrid beast. The scary lady's spider legs and jester attire scared her out of her wits.

"Bali-Lali is so pleased to meet you, Peach!" the monster, who Peach took to be Bali-Lali, hissed.

"Go away!" she shrieked, hiding her face in Pit's toga. Pit and Marth looked just as freaked out as Peach.

"I'm not going away until the task is complete, Peach," Bali-Lali cackled, more white fangs becoming visible under her blood red lips.

"What do you want with us?" yelled Pit. Bali-Lali grinned. "Peach used the key and thus signed our contract. Peach belongs to the Sunken Mausoleum now. Peach is owned."

"What?" cried Peach, turning to face Bali-Lali. "But Marth pressed it too!"

"Oh really?" Peach nodded firmly. "Then we need to fix this!" Bali-Lali snapped her bony fingers and the door that contained the second contract closed and opened again. This time, under Peach's signature, scrawled in messy black ink, were the words Marth Lowell.

"Better?" Bali-Lali sneered, but Peach and Marth were speechless. "But I didn't mean-" started Peach, but Bali-Lali interrupted.

"No buts, missy. It's you guy's contract, it's you guy's problem. Those who are owned do our work for us. Then they can go. Outside are the markers. Each riddle opens a marker. Each marker leads into a vault. In each vault is a spirit. Some unhappy, some angry. But all are sleeping. Solve their riddles and wake them up. Help them wake up peacefully. Send them on their way. Do not force them. Finish and leave before dawn, then come back tomorrow night. And the next…And bring me some gold!" Bali-Lali finished her speech and returned into the latch that she came out of.

Peach turned towards Marth and Pit. "We don't have to do this if we don't want to, right?" she asked. Marth nodded in agreement. "At least I'm not going to waste every night down here waking stupid ghosts up. And why should we give her gold?" Peach nodded. Marth turned towards the hatch. "We refuse to agree with your crummy old contract!" he yelled. The hatch swung open and Bali-Lali's head popped out, decorated with a demented grin.

"Oh, that's too bad," she replied and, from inside the hatch, Peach could hear her fingers snap. All of a sudden, hatches and trapdoors in the ceiling that Peach hadn't noticed before opened up, revealing other people, mummified and demented, hanging on cables that came out of nowhere. Peach could hear a scream welling in her throat as a small seven armed child with a lopsided, fang encrusted mouth on his face and a strange eyeball coming out of his head reaching for her. Peach tried to run but was frozen on the spot.

Is this how my life's going to end? Killed by some crazy spider lady and her ugly little people? Peach looked at Marth and realized that the prince was in a similar dilemma, an expression of fear frozen on his face as a mutated woman clothed in rags lifted him up into a nearby hatch. As Peach was pulled higher and higher into the ceiling, her entire life flashed before her eyes. Memories of being kidnapped by Bowser, saved by Mario and Luigi, and kidnapped again, memories of playing as a child, memories of Smash Mansion.

As the doorway neared her, a sudden chill spread over her body, as if she knew that something far worse than being kidnapped by Bowser was currently happening. She shrieked and kicked at the child, but her actions did nothing but give her a sore toe. She looked upwards and realized that the dreaded doorway of doom was just inches away.

As she was pulled through, darkness enveloped her senses, and the last thing Peach heard was the hatch creaking shut.


	3. Deal

I don't own SSBB or Bizenghast. I only own the plot of the story.

* * *

"You bad, bad lady!" cried Pit. "You will give back my friends right now! Give back Marth and Peach!"

Bali-Lali scowled. "It was their decision. Butt out, bub, this has nothing to do with you."

"No! I won't leave until my friends come back!"

The spider-lady sighed. "Edaniel!" she called, snapping her…claws.

There was a small poof of smoke, and there appeared a small, green cat.

"What'sa matter, Bali-Lali?" asked Edaniel.

After a few seconds of silent conversing, the cat and the spider both broke away from their conversation.

"Okay, bub, here's the deal. We'll give you one night to clear three vaults. You can bring one friend to help you, but that's it," announced Edaniel.

"Wait…three vaults? That many?"

Edaniel rolled his half-moon eyes. "They're not that hard, kiddo. They just take about 2 to 3 hours to complete. Each."

Pit mentally calculated the length of time. If it didn't go well, then it would take about 9 hours to finish. He'd get back to the Smash Mansion around 7:45 the next morning, which would result in an extremely pissed Master Hand, and the possibility of him becoming banned from Brawl.

But then he thought of Marth and Peach. The Mausoleum had taken the two of them prisoner, and the only way Pit could save them was by solving the vaults.

"Also," continued Edaniel, "We will choose the vaults for you. The vaults that you will complete are Ixi's World, aisle 2, gravestone 9; Jolly Roger of the High Seas, located in aisle 4, gravestone 16; and Her Little Ladyship, aisle 3, gravestone 5. Now, shoo."

As Pit turned to leave, Bali-Lali called out, "Be back at 10:45, bring one friend, and one friend only, and tell no one else of this."

Bali-Lali's last few words were hissed out like a whisper.

"And don't forget to bring some gold!"

* * *

Sorry 'bout the shortness.


	4. Recruit

Read and review! *Puss-in-Boots-eyes* Please?

And I don't own anything.

* * *

Zelda couldn't remember the last time she had felt this much grief; the Hylian princess had just learned of the fate of Marth and Peach, and Pit had just told her what would happen to them if he failed his task.

"So Bali-Lali wants you to give up some gold, complete three vaults by this morning, and you can bring one friend along to do so."

Pit nodded

"Then, why me?"

Pit blinked. "Huh?"

Zelda shuffled her feet. "I mean, why not take Samus or Ike or someone more suitable for the job? I'm not good at this kind of stuff, I might end up getting you killed or something. So, why me?"

Pit opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He looked directly at Zelda and gulped. Zelda, with her head hanging down and her long, thin ears pointed downward, looked absolutely adorable, and the more he looked, the prettier she became. Pit just wanted to walk over and wrap his arms and wings around the Hylian princess and give her a comforting kiss on the cheek, but he suppressed the urge to do so.

"It's just that you seem to care more for your friends than the other smashers. They're always too busy to help you with anything. You just ask them for some assistance and they just say they're doing something and can't be bothered. But you…you're different. You'd understand. You're caring, sweet, nice…" Pit trailed off. Zelda looked up expectantly, and Pit could feel his heart thundering within his chest as Zelda's questioning blue-green eyes stared into his blue eyes.

Pit took a breath. "I want you to be there with me. I want you to be beside me when I do this. I…I want your help."

Zelda nodded and smiled. "Then I'm happy to help you."

"Thank you," murmured Pit. Then he added, "meet me behind the mansion at 10:30 tonight."

* * *

Long after the sun had set, Zelda and Pit snuck outside, hiding beneath the long shadows cast by the towering mansion. The faint and pathetic sliver of light that emitted from the moon did not help the duo at all, forcing them to feel their way along the forest and slide on their butts down the steep cliff, while avoiding random little rocks and stubby tree stumps. At least the Mausoleum was lit up with lights; gothic lanterns to be exact.

Pit walked over to the hooded angel. The doors located underneath the statue were closed and locked, and even after tugging on the doorknobs, they wouldn't budge.

"Damn, why won't they open?"

Zelda thought for a while. "How did you get them to open last time?"

"They were just open when I got here," replied Pit.

"Well…did Bali-Lali or Edaniel tell you how to open them?"

Pit thought for a split second. "All Bali-Lali said was to bring some gold next time…but what could that mean?"

Zelda's eyes wandered to the shallow dish that the statue held in her hands.

"Maybe the key to opening them is gold," suggested Zelda.

"It's worth a try." Pit reached into the pocket of his toga and pulled out two golden coins. He tossed them into the dish. Once the two coins made contact with the dish, the doors creaked open slowly, revealing dark emptiness.

Zelda glanced at Pit, frightened, and wrapped her arms around the angel.

Pit soothingly rubbed Zelda's shoulder. "It's gonna be alright," murmured Pit, taking Zelda's hand and walking down into the high-ceilinged chamber. Bali-Lali hung upside-down in the middle of the room with a wicked smile plastered on her face.

"Hello Pit," she cackled, and then she walked over to Zelda. "How nice to meet you…" -Bali-Lali took Zelda's hand in her own- "Zelda…"

Bali-Lali smiled. "You two will start off at Jolly Roger of the High Seas. When you finish, report back here, and we'll guide you to the next vault." A dry, evil laugh escaped from Bali-Lali's fanged mouth. "Good luck…" the spider lady whispered, disappearing through her hatch.

"Hey, wait!" Pit yelled after Bali-Lali. "How do we find the vault?"

"…turn around…"

The pair turned around, nearly jumping once they saw a pair of huge double doors. Set at the center of the doors was a plaque that read,

"Many lost souls need salvation's light,

Many do not deserve it.

Some cannot find a path through he night,

Some must find a way to earn it.

Twenty black windows look into the cold,

Behind which no remains are interred.

Twenty blue glass-panes hold evil untold,

A careful, wary hand is preferred.

Twenty white portals show the blessed undone,

Who lack courage a pathway to find,

Blessed are they who uncover each one,

Free each spirit, each soul and each mind.

But for those who are few, against ours so many,

A guide can be given to aid these.

A light in the tomb when there might not be any,

And a friend to help others to find peace.

Seek to give hope where there was none before,

Free up the souls of imprisoned two-score.

To summon Edaniel at the door,

Knock once, then twice, then twice once more."

Zelda looked towards Pit. "Should we knock?" she inquired.

Pit shrugged. "I'm knocking," he announced, rapping on the door five times. The doors creaked open dramatically, and to add to the suspense, foggy white smoke billowed out from between the doors…and a small, green, pointed cat with sharp teeth and half-moon eyes rocketed out.

"HeyI'mEdanielandI'''thaftaworry''sWorld- DA-Amnnnnn… that lady is **such** a hypocrite –'llcheckitofforelseyou''!"

By the time Edaniel had finished talking, Pit's brain had begin to hurt and Zelda's eyes were metaphorically spinning in spirally anime circles. Edaniel looked up at them expectantly.

"So. Any questions kiddos?"

Pit and Zelda shook their heads.

Edaniel grinned even wider than he already was grinning. "Goodie!"

The two smashers then turned to enter the dreams of the dead.

"Alright Edaniel, lead us out."


	5. Shipwrecked

I is not own nothing.

Enjoy please.

Edaniel led Pit and Zelda out into the graveyard. The headstones that decorated the graves were odd but enchanting, such as a stone canopy with a pedestal and a lever hidden behind the marble curtains, a woman blowing a bugle, her elbow and arm replaced by a wheel and several pulleys, and a girl with a bird cage for a torso.

They trio eventually stopped at an old wooden boat, moldy and weathered with age. Edaniel messed around with the boat.

There was a swooshing sound and a resonating thump as a patch of earth in front of the boat disappeared, revealing darkness.

The two of them stared at the hole.

"Come on," pressured Edaniel.

Pit and Zelda leapt into the hole, unsure of what would happen next.

A loud "Good luck!" came from above.

Then, all was dark.

Pit sighed. "What have I gotten myself into this time?" he mumbled.

Suddenly, the floor swayed, launching Pit against a wall, while Zelda tumbled on the wooden floor.

A loud clap of thunder roared outside, while a flash of blue-white lightning illuminated the cracks of the walls. A mist of water sprayed the two smashers, while more water sloshed on the floor and dampened the wood.

"Where are we?" yelled Pit, trying to make himself heard over the crashing of water, the creaking of wood, and the thunder roaring outside.

Zelda lit a fireball, which illuminated the room with pinkish red. The room was wooden, damp from water. The Hylian princess launched the fireball at the door to the room, which splintered on contact.

A torrent of knee-high water rushed in through the door opening while Pit and Zelda waded across the room.

They were on a ship made of wood. The sky above was gray and gloomy, and it was raining cats and dogs. The turbulent waters that carried the ship caused the ship to rock back and forth. Furthermore, there was no captain at the wheel. There wasn't even a crew on board.

Pit was knocked over, and he tumbled against a raised section of the deck. In front of him was a strange opening that appeared out of place, so he peered in. Dozens of fearful faces stared back up at him; children clinging to mothers, wives clinging to husbands, and friends clinging to each other for dear life.

"Zelda!" yelled Pit. "We've got passengers here!"

"What?" gasped Zelda. "They're going to die if we don't do something!"

They Hylian ran over to the rail and peered over to the side of the boat. "The jolly boat is gone!" she cried.

"Same over here!" announced Pit from the other side.

Zelda ran over to the front of the boat and stared into the distance, her hand above her eyes to prevent the water from altering her vision. A small line of twinkling lights flickered in an area that seemed to be light years away.

"We have to guide the ship to land," answered Pit. "I'll take the wheel while you release the masts."

Pit grabbed hold onto the spokes sticking out of the wheel and turned it with all his strength, while Zelda scaled up the wet pole and teleported to the masts. Seconds after the thick, beige canvas was unraveled, the billowing wind ballooned the mast out to twice its original size, adding lots of much needed speed.

A blinding shard of lightning struck the boat, followed immediately by a deafening crackle of thunder. The highest point of the ship had caught on fire, the bright reddish orange flames quickly spreading to the masts and downward, eating away at the ship. Luckily, the rain and wind managed to quench the flames, but there was nothing left to propel the ship but charred remains of canvas, soaked and crumbling, hanging limply against the burnt wood.

Pit groaned. "How are we gonna get these guys back to the harbor? The ship is in ruins."

The angel hesitated. "I might be able to pull the ship to harbor," he said, looking back towards the land, which had zoomed in from a strip of flickering dots to a scattered mess of blinking points graphed on graph paper.


	6. Ixi's World

I don't own anything.

"All right, guys, we need some help," Pit announced in a loud, booming voice before the passengers on the ship. "The masts on the plane are destroyed, and we need help making new masts. Now, if everybody were willing to donate a jacket, then we could probably rebuild the masts and get back to shore quicker. If not, we would have to wait for the waves and wind to push us back to the shore, but the ship probably won't last that long in this hurricane." Pit hesitated. "Is anyone willing to donate?"

There was a moment of uneasy murmuring amongst the passengers as they talked amongst themselves.

"Take my jacket! And my shirt!"

A tall, lean man in the back stood up, his chest bare, his jacket and shirt bundled up in his outstretched hand. The man maneuvered his way through the mass of people and handed his clothes to Pit. Then, one by one, other people started donating. Men, women, and children shed coats while men donated shirts and women donated shawls. One man even insisted on giving them his pants.

Once enough cloth had been gathered, Pit took the cloth to Zelda, and the two of them tied the clothes together to form sheets, which were then tied over the ruined masts. The sheets immediately puffed up and propelled the ship near shore.

Zelda leaned over the railing and looked towards the harbor, where a few white boats drifted towards them. "The rescue boats are here!" she exclaimed.

As the rescue boats neared, a sudden gust of strong wind seemed to blow the rain, ocean, and boat away and carry Pit and Zelda into the center of the Mausoleum, where they were deposited.

Edaniel circled the duo apprehensively, as if they were a pair of thieves caught red-handed.

"Well, well, well, I see that you two have successfully finished the first vault in-" he glanced at a pocket watch that appeared out of nowhere, "-2 hours. Nice work, guys! Keep it up!" Pit and Zelda glared at the cheeky green "cat" whose grin was still in place. Edaniel just chuckled. "Are you two ready for the next vault?"

"Urg," mumbled Zelda as Pit cussed under his breath.

Edaniel clapped his paws together. "Alright gang! Let's go!"

The second vault was located on a strange stone platform with two strange switches. Edaniel instructed them to stand on the platform and tweak the switches. The platform descended into the ground, and they heard Edaniel yell, "Don't get carried away!"

Pit and Zelda were a good ten feet in the ground when the platform suddenly stopped moving. "What's going on?" Pit wondered aloud, and as he spoke, the platform rose above the ground.

They were met by the sight of a large chunk of earth floating in midair. On top of the mound of dirt was an enchanting gothic castle. Four other chunks of earth were chained to the center, each sporting a smaller but just as elegant building. Stairs rotated around the center mound, allowing access to every part of the structure.

The stairs approached the gazebo Pit and Zelda stood in, and they stepped on, walking towards the center. The inside of the castle was intricately decorated and filled with guests wearing fancy outfits and small masks as hats. Entertainers played two-sided instruments, and strange, mutated animals seemed to be two-sided as well.

Zelda gazed down at her clothes, expecting to see her wrinkled and soppy dress. However, she was wearing a royal purple gown with glossy red embroidery stitched on the skirt of her dress, and her shoes had been changed to magenta flats. On the side of her head was a mask, the edge of the mask lined with ruffled ribbon, while two lavender ribbons formed a bow under her chin, thus preventing the mask from falling off. Pit was dressed in a long, navy blue trench coat with a black collared shirt and britches, while long white socks covered his calves and black leather buckle shoes protected his feet. A mask was placed on the side of his head as well, while a thin, cerulean blue ribbon kept it in place.

A short woman with short black hair styled in a pixie cut glided over to Pit and Zelda. "Hello, welcome to my world! My name is Ixi."

Ixi was outfitted in a long dress of alternating black and gold patterns. In her black-and-gold-gloved hand she held a long metallic staff with a golden sun on one end and a silvery-black moon on the other.

"Feel free to explore the guest rooms on the other platforms. Just wait for the stairs to come to you and don't fall," Ixi joked.

Pit smiled. This was gonna be a long vault…

"Oomph…my stomach hurts so much…" grumbled Pit as he flopped down on the king sized bed in the rental rooms of Ixi's world. He and Zelda had decided to have separate rooms to avoid awkwardness, but Pit was beginning to wish that they didn't.

Shedding the long blue jacket, mask, and his black leather shoes, Pit repositioned himself on the bed. As sleep overcame him, the angel began to think, _This isn't so bad after all…_

"Get up, you lazy excuse for a slave!"

The rough, bellowing voice followed by the strong arm lifting him to his feet caused Pit to jolt back to consciousness.

"Huh?" murmured Pit as a fat man with a ruined right eye shoved him towards a huge wheel that was being pushed by other people.

"PUSH!" yelled the man as he slapped Pit with a whip, and he yelped, grabbing the large spokes and pushing.

"Pssst," he whispered to the gaunt and ragged man pushing in front of him, "what's going on?"

"Don't you know? We're slaves of Ixi, forced to turn the world for her amusement," the man replied.

Pit looked around. Surrounding him were at least two hundred people, some haggard and ragged, some not so bad, and some just plain confused, their clothes still clean and intact. They seemed to be inside the center platform, pushing the other platforms in a circle. The slave master held the whip firmly, threatening to punish anyone who were to not obey commands, and escape was made nearly impossible due to a collar with a chain that all rotator slaves were forced to wear. The only thing left for him to do was push.

Hours later, sweat trickled down Pit's face and his hair stuck to his head as if glue had been applied. Pit's shirt and pants clung tightly to his body. His arms, back, and legs ached badly, but he knew what would happen if he were to stop. Pit had found a pattern in the chore, and he tried to only think "left, right, left, right," but the pain in his feet tried to break his concentration. He had regretted taking off his shoes because the continuous walking had worn away at the soles of his socks, and he could see the bloody footprints traveling in a circle.

_Right, left, right, left, right, left, right, left_…

"Pit!"

Pit's mantra had been interrupted by a female voice on the other side of the wheel, and a cracking whip followed immediately afterwards.

"Do not talk to one another without my permission!"

Pit turned to see the sight of Zelda cowering under the slave master's whip and being dragged in a circle on the ground by the chain around her neck.

"Zelda!"

Finding that hidden reserve of energy deep in his mind caused adrenaline to rush through his veins. Snapping the chain off of the wheel, he ran over to Zelda, despite his injured feet, and punched every inch of the slave master that he could reach, dragging him off of the Hylian princess. The slave master struck Pit a few times on the chest with the whip, but Pit managed to throw him against the earthen walls, rendering him unconscious.

He then turned towards the slaves near the edge of the platform.

"You up there! Jam up the cogs! We're gonna wind up this world so tight, it's going to collapse on itself."

The other slaves, trusting his plan, followed each order carefully. The gaunt, paper faced slaves near the edge of the platform's interior placed jagged pieces of wood against the rolling cogs, preventing the rotating stairs from moving. More slaves joined Pit, Zelda, and the original rotator slaves, pushing with all their might. As the wheel turned, the chains connected to the cogs began to wrap around the top of the wheel. The contraption began to creak and squeal, and eventually, the four outer platforms and the stairs caved in, crushing the gothic castle.

Pit and Zelda pulled themselves back to the upper part of the platform, where they saw Ixi on the ground, cowering amongst the wreckage.

"My world, it's ruined!" she wailed, looking with dismay around at her once marvelous castle. Looking around, she saw Pit and Zelda approaching her, hatred clear in their eyes.

They stopped in front of the former queen. "Let me tell you a story," Pit began. "Once upon a time, there was a selfish girl. The girl thought that having two faces made you clever, smart, and brilliant."

Zelda picked up afterwards. "The girl then gave herself so many false personalities that no one knew where one began and the other one ended. So they killed her."

All the while, Ixi had spent the entire story looking shamefully at the ground behind her, but her expression was morphing from shame into one of anger and hatred faster than one could say "Severe Mood Swings". A long, thin knife slid from her sleeve to her black-and-gold gloved hand, concealed from everyone.

Then, she snapped.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" she shrieked, lunging at Pit and slamming the knife straight into his chest. Pit, who had not been expecting the attack, fell backwards, gasping in pain as the knife was pulled out from his chest and brought down again on his neck and face. After several stabs, Pit laid motionless, his face and clothes stained with red blood and severe knife wounds. Ixi then turned on Zelda and threw the knife at her like a Frisbee, the knife spinning in the air. Zelda ducked, her body bowing down and the blade missed her head, however managing to slice off half of her sleek brown braid. The Hylian princess then turned to look from the knife, which had been thrown off the platform, to the limp, lifeless angel. Within her, a sudden rage burned as adrenaline began to course through her veins. Finally, Zelda snapped as well, the first time in years.

"!" Zelda let out a shrill war cry and lunged at Ixi. The Hylian pulled her fist back and smashed it against Ixi's face over and over again.

"AAAAH! STOP! Please!" Ixi wailed, cowering under Zelda's rage. Zelda pulled back and looked at the former queen. Her rage turned to confusion when she saw the cracks that appeared on Ixi's face. It took her a short while to figure it out, and she gasped in realization.

_Ixi was just a layer of false masks._

Then, Zelda grabbed Ixi's collar and pulled her up to eye level. Digging her gloved fingers into the faint cracks, Zelda pulled. There was more cracking as Ixi's face came apart, and in protest, Ixi's hands wrapped around Zelda's arms, weakly attempting to stop Zelda. Finally, Zelda pulled her hand away, and part of Ixi's mask flew into the air. Zelda looked back at Ixi's face and her suspicions were confirmed.

_There was another mask under the cracked one. _

Ixi collapsed on the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut. It was as if destroying the outer layer of her personality had killed her. Breathing heavily, Zelda looked at Ixi's body one last time and then ran towards Pit's lifeless body.

"Pit? Pit! Pit!" Zelda screamed, slapping Pit's cheek gently with her hands and shaking his body, but the angel didn't respond. Tears cascaded from Zelda's aquamarine eyes as she held Pit's body close to hers, and she burrowed her face in the crook between his neck and his shoulder.

Suddenly, Pit's body wasn't there, and all Zelda held was air. She looked around and found herself back at the Mausoleum.

Edaniel appeared beside her. "Ready for the next vault?" he questioned, cheerily. Zelda glared daggers at him through her tears.

"I'm sick of it all! I'm sick of doing your bidding, I'm sick of feeling so helpless, and I'm sick of seeing people die!" She screamed, her voice cracking slightly as a new wave of tears threatened to spill over. "I've been held a slave. I've nearly drowned. I got my hair cut off. I almost was killed by a psychotic lady. What more do you want me to do?"

"The next vault," replied Edaniel, calmly and coolly. "If you succeed, then Peach, Pit, and Marth are all gonna be revived, and you'll all go home happy and giddy and blah-blah-blah. So, is it a deal?" Edaniel held out a green paw.

Zelda hesitated and then placed her blood-soaked glove on his green paw and shook it.

"Deal."

There you go!


	7. Her Little Ladyship

"This vault is special," Edaniel explained. "For the beginning of this vault, I can help you with something, but you're on your own for the rest of the vault."

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Fun," she murmured.

This time, the gravestone consisted of a stone statue of a young woman. In her delicate, gray hands, she held a dark red apple. Edaniel plucked the apple from the woman's hands. "Bon appetite," he chirped, handing the apple to Zelda. Zelda bit down on the apple, which tasted like all normal apples.

As soon as Zelda bit the apple, a section of earth descended into the ground, revealing a ladder.

"Cowabunga!" Edaniel jumped onto the ladder and slid down, the rungs causing his happy whoop of joy to sound like a busted up massage machine. Zelda laughed softly as she followed Edaniel, descending the ladder two rungs at a time.

"Okay, jump down now!" Zelda could hear Edaniel's voice coaxing her to leap off the ladder into the darkness. Zelda jumped and landed in something wet, shallow, and stinky with random floating things here and here.

Edaniel turned on a flashlight, revealing that they were inside an old brick well filled with trash and dirty water.

"In this vault, you're gonna be putting a girl's body back together," Coached Edaniel. "For starters, you'll need-" Edaniel fished around with something in the water "-this." Edaniel handed Zelda a necklace decorated with a single seashell. Zelda hung it around her neck.

"Go up the ladder and to the old, beat up shack. There, you'll find body parts. Put them together, and you'll get a wealthy aristocrat's dead daughter, Her Little Ladyship. Get rid of her, and take the necklace to the nearby mansion. Tell whoever answers the door, 'Take me to Her Little Ladyship'. They'll take you to a coffin with a withered body in it. Put the necklace on the body and you're done. Is that clear?"

Zelda nodded.

"Good," answered Edaniel. "Now shoo." The pointy green cat checked his pocketwatch that he pulled out of thin air. "You have 30 minutes."

The interior of the old, beat up shack near the well was nothing like the exterior. Tall, elegant rice-paper-covered shutters led to a door in the back, twisting and turning in all directions like a maze. Zelda followed the path through the door and into an extravagant bedroom, which, like Edaniel had explained, contained body parts. On a velvet covered bed, there was a body with the neck and arms cut off. A thick satin blanket covered her body, which was supposedly naked.

Zelda began with the arms. Rows of arms were laid on shelves and a showcase of 20 or so heads decorated the side of the room.

Edaniel had said that Her Little Ladyship was the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, so that must have meant that there was some kind of jewelry. Finding the right arm was easy enough; two signet rings decorated the pointer and ring fingers. The left arm was tricky since most of the arms had rings on the ring finger, symbolizing marriage. However, there was only one hand as delicate and soft as the hand bearing the signet rings, and that was obviously Her Little Ladyship's left arm.

Zelda connected the arms to the stumps protruding from the shoulders, and they fit like puzzle pieces. Next up was the heads.

"Heads, heads, heads," murmured Zelda as her bright blue-green eyes skimmed over the showcase of heads. All were female, but there were so many varieties of facial structures, makeup, and hair color and styling on the heads that Zelda couldn't tell which one belonged to such a spoiled little brat like Her Little Ladyship. Opening the glass door, she grabbed the first head she saw, which happened to be a pale, sophisticated face framed with ebony black ringlets pulled back with a headpiece decorated with dark red roses. Zelda placed the head on the neck of the headless girl. Nothing happened.

After going through all of the heads, Zelda sighed. Checking the pocket watch she had received as a birthday gift from Link, Zelda saw that she only had 10 minutes left until time was up. Frustrated and upset, she unconsciously tightened the grip on the shell necklace that she grabbed in left hand in anger, resulting in a small piece snapping off.

"Hey, stop that!"

Zelda froze. The bratty and indignant female voice that shouted behind her could only be that of Her Little Ladyship. The source of the sound came from an intricately decorated cabinet on the other side of the room. After hanging the necklace around her neck, Zelda flung the doors open and peered inside.

The head inside the cabinet was unlike any of the other heads in the room. The pale face was smooth, delicate, and sophisticated, complete with a pointed chin and rosy cheekbones. Her face was flawed only by hardened sand and dirt residue on her neck and around her right eye. A black eye patch, embroidered with a glossy crimson rose, covered her right eye. The iris of her other eye, a shade of icy blue, had an enchanting starburst pattern around the dark, fuzzy pupil. The girl's wavy blonde hair framed her face and cascaded down towards the body that wasn't there. A long story told short, she was mesmerizing.

Zelda removed the head from the cabinet and placed it on the body. The girl's left arm suddenly whipped upwards, her hand gripping on Zelda's right arm. Panicking, Zelda attempted to teleport out of the way, but Her Little Ladyship left hand snaked upwards, wrapping around Zelda's neck and trying to grab the seashell necklace. Zelda spluttered, unable to speak or breathe. The blonde girl then sat up, the cream-colored blanket slipping off of her body and revealing her nakedness. Her Little Ladyship forced Zelda onto the bed, her hands still wrapped around her neck. Struggling, Zelda accidentally kicked a lever next to the bed, and the bed just disappeared. Her Little Ladyship let go of Zelda and let her fall.

As Zelda tumbled through the air, her mind pounded with fear. She'd heard stories about when you were seconds away from death, you'd see your life flash before your eyes, but the only thing that she could see was the dark shadows of the bottomless abyss that she tumbled through. Foggy darkness overwhelmed Zelda's senses, and the last thing she thought was, "Marth, Peach, Pit…I'm sorry."

- Muhahahahahahaha…cliffhanger! Well, not really.


	8. Epilogue: Newcomers

Some might say that they were switched out. Some others might say that their vaults were solved and similar spirits took their places. However, all of the other Mausoleum spirits knew of the newcomers were different. There was a young, elven maiden with a birdcage for a chest, who had taken the place of Cagey. The heartbroken prince of the ancient English castle now was a blue-clad bluenette with a heart forever locked. Plague's vault was now occupied by a cautious young man with messily ruffled brown hair and wide, fear-filled blue eyes darting back and forth. A few vaults down was Brenda, the young, deceitful princess who commanded a desert paradise.

The bodies of Pit, Peach, Marth, and Zelda were never found. The smashers futilely prayed for their return, but that was impossible.

You see, they were in a dream.

A dream they couldn't wake from.

Yup, it's over!

Notes:

Zelda becomes Cagey, a young woman locked inside a castle for months by her father, the King of Hyrule. Zelda's father eventually kills Zelda.

Marth becomes Ironbound, the prince of Altea who loved Samus, but his parents disapproved. Heartbroken, Marth killed himself and Samus, and his heart remained locked forever.

Pit became Plague,


End file.
